Logitech Z-5300e THX-Certified 280-Watt 5.1 Surround Sound PC and Gaming Speaker System

This was my first time ordering from Amazon.com Before I get into the speakers, I just want to say that I was BLOWN AWAY by the speed of shipping. I ordered this less than 24 hours ago and have already received it!!!!! This level of service, with FREE shipping no less, is just incredible. I see now why Amazon.com is such a major player in online retailers. As for the speakers, I haven't given them a thorough rundown, but after quickly hooking them up and testing them with some MP3's and Halflife 2 I can say that both the Stereo aspect and the 5.1 are just incredible. I can't believe these have only cost me $110.00 (after the rebate). I am a major BASS nut. And these things deliver. The bass is deep and full. The mids and Highs are also incredible. Logitech has done a great thing. I know that the 5500's are a little more powerful and have a built in decoder, but for the amazing price that you get these for (even without the rebate) they are a tremendous deal. I highly recommend them, and HIGHLY recommend you buy from Amazon.com, I know I will be much more often.-----Added 4/3/05-----Now that I have had some time to get aquainted with these speakers I can say that my initial review was pretty accurate. These have EXCELLENT sound all bass, mid, and highs sound great. I have found that the "Matrix" mode can be a nice thing to use. I always turn it on when I am playing MP3's or any music. It gives a nice "fuller" sound. I'm kind of mixed on using the matrix mode with games that don't have 3D audio. Sometimes I like it and other times I think it's better left on stereo, as the matrix mode isn't perfect (nor could it be, really) and the stereo sounds coming from behind you can be a little off. But it certainly serves it's purpose with music.As far as the Sub, I have heard a few people complain about the sub being to "boomy" And I could understand where they come from with that. I have had a couple of songs come up that were kind of drowned out by the bass. But with the handy-dandy control pad you can change the level of the bass. And it goes low enough that it should be able to accommodate any listening preference. After all this is a 5.1 system, and that .1 is bass!The only bad thing I can think to say is perhaps the cable length. When I was doing my permanent installation, with the place I had to put the sub (it's pretty big) the left front speaker BARLEY had enough wire length to put it where I wanted. I had to move my desk a little to be able to reposition the sub to fix this problem. I think that the 5500's or the 680's had detachable wires, this could be a nice idea, but I suppose that could add extra cost.Bottom Line: For the price of these speakers (even without the rebate) are a great buy!If nothing else I can say that playing first person shooter games (half life 2 and battlefield 1942 for instance) the sounds of the gunfire and explosions are pants-wetting! It sounds INCREDIBLE, if nothing else buy them for that reason :)

Even though this system is a bargain, a surround-sound system it is not. It is a 3-speaker system. That's because the far right and left speakers are so dominated by the booming bass as to render them to be nothing more than bystanders.

......Of course, by the price I've payed for this item I could not expect to have a Bose quallity sound, but, it has a main problem which is you cannot turn down the bass volume till wherever you want, so it is always a "Bass Concert" what you hear; without the posibility, if you want it so, to turn out the bass, or as I wished, to put it's level exactly where I wanted. You could turn it down just till certain point, but even so, the subwoofer sounds over the rest of the speakers. And the rest of the speakers have not a very beautiful sound with an unavoidable excesive middle range frecuence. And what they say about 280 watt, I'd say that they are 270 for the sub and 10 for the rest of the speakers which cords are too short for a home theater.

We purchased this system less than two years ago. It has seen light to moderate use. Several days ago, the speakers started intermittently cutting out. This afternoon, the subwoofer popped several times--then caught fire! Fortunately, my son was able to extinguish the flames before much damage was done. Beware!!!!!

Sorry that this is such a lengthy review. I had upgraded to these speakers from the logitech x-530's. The x-530's had really impressed me for its price. Another great speaker system, indeed. I saw these z-5300's speakers and did quite a bit of research before my purchase. This system put out around 3x more power than my old system and also came with a game console adapter which is why I really wanted these.I was stunned at the the sheer power the bass was putting out. I had tested it out on my Xbox before my computer. Halo 2 never sounded so real! Hearing every bullet and rocket fly by while hearing the sound of the running water from the environment just astonished my friend and I. Then I hooked up the system to my laptop. Surround sound never sounded so good! Clear, crisp, even sound throughout. I loved how the system included an adapter for game consoles, but the only problem with it is that the adapter only hooks up the left and right AV cords and converts it to 2.1 speakers. I was hoping it would convert to the entire 5.1 system, but I ended up just buying a seperate adapter from logitech to do that. One other small problem that I have is that sometimes I get small clicks while listening to music. That could easily be due to the quality some of my old media files and old video games that I play though. Some of the other reviews here also mentioned problems with the bass being too loud. Yes, this system can be quite "aggressive", but with a good sound card and even with the included wired remote, you can adjust the level so that the bass is even completely off (which is a good thing in certain situations). Personally, I haven't had any bass problems, but I am a bass junkie. Other than that, these speakers are really worth it. Highly recommended!!!Summary of this long reviewPros: Clear sound, massive bass power, included game adapterCons: Partial clicking sounds (but could easily be the result of my old media files), wish it came with complete 5.1 conversion game adapter.